Date of Award
9-1-1988
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Abstract
The board of directors at Practical Bible Training School (PBTS) has directed the administration and faculty to develop a baccalaureate degree program, the first degree offered by PBTS in its eighty-eight year history. The purpose of this practicum was to compare the baccalaureate degrees and credit hour requirements for degrees offered by institutions accredited by the American Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) to identify appropriate norms at colleges similar to PBTS. A questionnaire was sent to the chief academic officer at the ninety-six AABC member and candidate schools to gather data on the degrees offered and the number of credit hours required for the total program, Bible and theology, general education, the major, and the minor. Eighty percent of the colleges responded. The following six degrees were offered by over ten percent of the AABC institutions (in order of frequency): Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Theology·, Bachelor of Religious Education, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Sacred Music. The Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science were the only degrees offered by over half of the colleges responding. The Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Religious Education were found to have regional significance in the Midwest and Canada, as was the Bachelor of Music in the Midwest and the Bachelor of Science in the Northeast. Average credit hours for the six degrees ranged from 123 to 154 for total credits 37 to 46 for credits in Bible and theology, 34 to 46 for general education, and 33 to 72 f or the major. Average credits in the minor ranged from seventeen to twenty-one hours; however, only thirty-seven percent of the programs included minors. The six common AABC degrees were recommended as candidates for the initial degree offered by PBTS with emphasis placed on special consideration for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science due to the recognition and use of these degrees by so many other Bible colleges. It was recommended that credit hour requirements for the new degree be kept within one standard deviation from the mean found at AABC schools in the five credit categories analyzed. A sample break down of proposed credit hour requirements was provided for each of the six degrees recommended.